New homes for cyclone victims

AROUND 150 people who had been evacuated from flood-prone areas in Chimanimani before Tropical Storm Chalane made landfall last week will soon be relocated permanently onto farms that have been availed by the Government.

The families, who were affected by Cyclone Idai in 2019 and had been living in makeshift homes, will now be relocated to safer areas where the Government plans to provide them with free housing. The Ministry of Local Government and Public Works will construct the new houses and provide relevant social amenities for families upon relocation.

Manicaland Provincial Development Coordinator Mr Edgars Seenza told The Sunday Mail that the families will not be returning to their old homes.

“The 153 people who accepted evacuation and were temporarily living at Mutambara and St Patrick’s High Schools are the same ones who were affected by Cyclone Idai and were living in tents.

“They will not be taken back to the floodprone areas where they were living, but they will be permanently relocated to two farms, which were availed by the Ministry of Local Government. New houses are going to be built for them and they will also be employed to construct the houses.” Mr Seenza said authorities continue to assess the damage caused by the storm.

“Assessments on the impact of the tropical storm are still ongoing.

“Indications are that there was no major damage. The only damages we can report were on some houses that were partially destroyed and trees which fell and damaged roads in Chimanimani.”

The tropical storm made a landfall on the Mozambican coast on Wednesday before moving inland into eastern Zimbabwe the following day, where it intensified into a tropical storm and later to a severe tropical storm.

The Government evacuated families living in low-lying areas to safer holding facilities on higher ground. Transport was deployed to move families from areas that were at risk of mudslides, landslides and flash floods.